Just how accurate is the information some of the agencies have given people?

munchkin_utd

The mass grave of babies in Tuam, which is the start of what will be a few grim years of finding more mass graves, has led to a fresh spurt of articles bring written on Mother and baby homes and adoption back in the days.

St Patricks guild got a special mention, but it has me slightly confused.

It specifically named one religious-run former adoption agency — St Patrick’s Guild, in Dublin — as being “aware of several hundred illegal registrations”, stating that the agency “are not seeking the people involved”, but were, rather, “waiting for people to contact them”.

The agency’s 13,500 adoption files — one of the largest archives in the country — are now in the hands of Tusla.

http://www.irishexaminer.com/viewpoints/analysis/tuam-and-bessborough-houses-of-horror-444959.html

I presume the phrase illegal registrations is something along the lines of registering a new born baby as the natural child of a different mother , or am I reading it wrong ?

Re-reading the thread here, I also see that many were given false information on their birth mother/ parents which is actually whats really bugging me. My natural parents, according to the story from the nuns from back when I was born, were supposedly mad into water sports, scuba diving and I had a 6foot something dad.
Now..... I am somewhat the opposite, I cant swim despite trying to learn, have no interest in water, and am FAR from being generously over 6foot tall (and ive a 6 year old son who is shaping up to also not be the tallest either)!
Grand, maybe I'm the product of an affair, maybe I spent too much time doing accountancy homework late into the wee hours as a teen and have stunted growth, but I just have a niggling feeling that if these particular nuns can act criminally and deceitfully in illegally registering births , then how can you believe a word of what they say regarding your own background ?

So really, I'm just asking anyone who has been lied to by the nuns to maybe give an idea of how they were less than truthful, was it what you (i.e. adopted parents) were told at birth regarding your background which was incorrect or was it more a deflectionary tactic when looking to trace your birth mother later in life ?

I wouldnt say I'm terribly fussed at opening the can of worms and searching out my birth mother, but if the little I know is just a lie then maybe I should at least make contact and get the truth, even if its just to get the story right more than have an emotional reunion.

The_Conductor

@munchkin_utd

1. I'm hiving your post off into a thread of its own- as it is a topic that merits discussion wholly aside from the SPG aspect.

2. Anyone who replies here- must abide by the forum rules, as spelt out in the charter.

3. With respect of your observation, the article in the Examiner- and the radio interview with PJ-

Its far from unusual for inaccurate information- often laughably inaccurate information- to be disbursed by the mother and baby homes, the agencies who handled the adoptions (not always the mother and baby home) and indeed- in more recent times- the Adoption Authority, the HSE and Tusla.

Its not always deliberate- very often, all those years ago, records were deliberately errr..... 'manufactured' by some people- to ridiculous lengths- often under the guise of protecting the anonymity of the mother at any cost. However- it wasn't standard practice- some people in some agencies were notorious with their records- whereas other people in the same agencies- were meticulous. There wasn't a standard- i.e. you can't point at Sr. Sarto down in Bessboro and suggest all her 'non-identifying information' disbursed were works of fiction (though I have a few examples of some which are actually funny how inaccurate they are). SPG have actually copped that they have a group of records which are dubious in their accuracy- however, instead of chasing people- they've handed over everything to Tusla- who are going to have to decide how to deal with the records as and when they come up in the course of their duties.

Often people believed they were doing what was best- by falsifying records- its all well and good to say they were different times- however, the simple fact of the matter is- all information is all tainted with question marks as to how accurate it is- its veracity.

The manner in which the information was falsified- isn't consistent- in some cases it goes as far as completely fictitious mothers being invented- along with wholly questionable background stories- should it ever be questioned. In instances like this (which are far from unusual)- the person who supplies you with non-identifying information when you contact them- could be supplying you with complete and utter works of fiction- worthy of the Brothers Grimm- without knowing that your 'non-identifying information' is complete and utter bullsh*t (excuse my language).

SPG have been caught out with a number of high profile instances of creative story-telling- however, in all honesty- I'm not aware of a single organisation who hasn't gotten caught out with works of fiction.

This is the main reason we warn people not to take their 'non-identifying information' at face value until you have verified it from other sources. Don't assume its accurate- it might be- but you just cannot tell.

munchkin_utd

thanks for the thorough informative answer. There's a fair bit to ponder there and its clear that the truth could actually be anything.

you mention a radio interview with a "PJ" , have you a link for that by any chance or how would I find it ?
EDIT: if its "PJ Haverty, Survivor of Tuam Baby Home" then this is the mp3 file

Would it be an idea to maybe build a sticky thread of links to various media coverage and articles and radio documentaries on the adoption agencies and baby homes, separate from any discussions of the homes themselves / people searching for their history ?

The_Conductor

The issue with a single thread for media/articles etc- is you end up with a thread meandering around the place. At the moment Tuam is foremost in the media- in a few weeks time it could well be Roscrea or Bessboro- or Tusla etc etc. They're all adoption related- and indeed, may be issues in common with one another- however, its as likely that you'd end up with a group of disparate articles- where you'd not have any particular idea on what was featuring- until you'd gotten to the last post. In addition- you'd have people commenting on a current article or story- in such a way- that it would probably be cleaner and clearer- to simply separate them out into separate threads- which would of course defeat the purpose of having a 'media' thread in the first place.

I hear what you're saying- I just don't think it would work.